Three players primed to make moves in fall camp
Alabama Football kicks off fall camp today, and there will be several position battles that will take place over the coming weeks. Players all over the roster have been working throughout the spring and summer months to improve at their crafts, and will now have the opportunity to put that individual development to the test.
As players compete for starting positions and other prominent roles, we will gradually gain a better understanding of what the Crimson Tide will look like when the season kicks off. Here are three players in particular who are in position to solidify themselves in the starting lineup.
Wilkin Formby | RT | Redshirt Freshman
In the most important position battle on the entire offense, Formby and redshirt sophomore Elijah Pritchett will go at it for the right tackle job. Pritchett is the older player and has more game experience, but not by much.
Wilkin Formby was a 4-star recruit and a top-100 player in the class of 2023 who has now drawn rave reviews from two different coaching staffs. Despite being just a redshirt freshman, Formby has assumed a leadership role on the offensive line and was one of the key cogs in recruiting left tackle Kadyn Proctor back to Alabama.
If Formby is going to separate from Elijah Pritchett and establish himself as the starter, fall camp is the time to do it.
DaShawn Jones | CB | Redshirt Junior
Jones was a late spring transfer portal addition for the Crimson Tide, coming over from Wake Forest. While true freshman Zabien Brown has impressed with his maturity and technical proficiency, DaShawn Jones is widely expected to kick off the season as a starting cornerback. This is primarily due to the fact that he is one of just two corners on the roster, along with fellow transfer Domani Jackson, with any collegiate game experience at all.
Holding off Brown and Bama’s other talented young corners won’t be easy, and Jones was further handicapped by missing the spring. Still, he bet on himself big-time by leaving the relative anonymity of Wake Forest to play the most vulnerable position in football at the most visible program in the nation. Assuming his end goal is to prove he can play at the professional level, it all starts with earning the starting job in Tuscaloosa.
DeVonta Smith | Husky | Redshirt Junior
Smith is in a very similar position to DaShawn Jones. After transitioning from safety to Husky, Smith will attempt to hold off another well-developed true freshman in Red Morgan. Smith was impressive in last season’s fall camp and was in contention for a starting safety role before an injury took him out of the race.
He is experienced from a time standpoint, entering his fourth season on campus. However, the redshirt junior has missed a lot of time with injuries in his career and doesn’t necessarily have a big advantage in terms of reps.
Ideally, he won’t miss a beat and will pick up where he left off last fall camp. If he can do so, Smith, Malachi Moore, and Keon Sabb will give Alabama a trio of experienced, versatile, playmaking safety-types in the secondary.